News & Media

Libya Trade Mark Office Resumes Operations

By: Dr. Joseph G. (May 15, 2013)

Dear Sirs,

This is to inform you that the Libyan Trade Mark Office has resumed its operations after two years of closure due to the Libyan Civil War.

Now that the Trademark Office has resumed operations, the new Commercial Law no. 23 issued in 2010 has come into effect, therefore, according to the new law, the certified copy of trademark home registration is NO longer required.

The requirements for filing a new trademark application, which should be submitted along with the application are as follows:1) A Power of Attorney duly legalized to the Consulate of Libya; 2) A certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation OR the Extract from the Commercial Register duly legalized to the Consulate of Libya;3) 10 prints of the trademark; and,4) If priority is to be claimed, a certified copy of the priority document issued from a country member to the Paris Convention.PS: Documents mentioned in (1) and (2) above should be signed by the Consulate of Libya post Gaddafi Regime, therefore all documents signed before the revolution will NOT be accepted.

If priority is to be claimed, application could be filed without the above listed supporting documents, but with copy thereof, while originals could be submitted within 60 days as from filing date.

Please note that Libya follows the 8th Edition of the International Classification of Goods and Services, however, products such as “alcoholic beverages in class 32” and “Christmas trees and related products in class 28” are NOT permitted to be registered in Libya.

Please note that an application could cover only one class, therefore, a separate application should be prepared for each class.

The examination stage, as stated by the Registrar, should take 4 to 7 months, noting that this period depends on internal work at the Libyan TMO and is just an assumption.